Uber confirms it's bringing 3,000 jobs to Dallas with major hub
Uber confirmed Tuesday that it will establish a new U.S. General and Administrative Hub that will house various corporate functions in Dallas. Show Full Story
The ride-sharing giant's project will create 3,000 new jobs and includes a capital investment of more than $75 million, according to a statement from Gov. Greg Abbott's office.
The announcement follows a story earlier this month in the Dallas Business Journalthat Uber Technologies Inc. (NYSE: UBER) was zeroing in on the city, according to people familiar with the matter.
Uber stands to receive nearly $36 million in economic incentives from the city, county and state for the expansion.
The announcement from the company came after Dallas County commissioners voted Tuesday to approve a multimillion-dollar tax incentive plan aimed at luring the Uber corporate expansion and roughly 3,000 high-paying jobs.
In total, the Dallas County incentives could save Uber more than $2.5 million in taxes spread over 10 years. The City of Dallas last week approved $9.35 million toward the proposed Uber expansion, and Gov. Abbott’s office kicked in $24 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund for a total of $35.85 million.
"Dallas became the first city in Texas where the Uber app was available in 2012, and since then Texas has been a hub of innovation for our platform,” Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, said in the company's statement. “Uber is excited to bring this major investment to Texas and to increase our commitment to the City of Dallas."
Khosrowshahi credited a partnership with Gov. Abbott, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson, Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins and other officials for making the deal a reality.
“This move will create a $400 million annual payroll in Deep Ellum that will provide a huge boost to our urban core with a positive wave that will spread across our entire county and region,” Jenkins said.
Dallas County’s $2.5 million share of the offer is made up of a 10-year, 50 percent tax abatement on real property, and 90 percent tax abatement on business personal property for the company.
Uber will ultimately move into a new tower that will be built at The Epic, an 8-acre development in Deep Ellum. Westdale Real Estate and Asset Management has owned the land tract for more than two decades and chose to team up with KDC on the project.
The company will begin to move folks into the new site in the fall, according to Travis Considine, spokesperson for Uber. The roughly 3,000 jobs will include operations for Uber Eats, recruiting, human resources, finance, legal and business development teams.
Dallas won out because of its access to talent Uber needs, Considine said. It also is business-friendly, near two large airports and has a strong quality of life, he said.
Employees at the office would have a minimum average annual salary of $100,000 and the jobs would include systems analysts, software engineers, finance executives, salespeople and other corporate positions, according to county documents.
The County Commission approved the incentive package on a 4-0 vote with an abstention by Commissioner John Wiley Price, who said he wanted written assurances from the ride-sharing giant that their hiring would reflect the racial and ethnic makeup of the area.
Price represents the district in which the Uber office is set to be built.
Dale Petroskey, president and CEO of the Dallas Regional Chamber, said Uber’s decision shows the depth of innovation and technology talent that is moving to the Dallas region.
“We’ve seen the fourth-highest high-tech job growth of any U.S. metro area over the past four years,” Petroskey said in a statement. “Uber recognizes that we are committed to recruiting elite tech talent from around the globe, and also preparing our home-grown workforce through expanded focus on rigorous STEM instruction in our high schools and colleges.”
The state award was the largest since the $40 million Texas Enterprise Fund grant for Toyota North America, which relocated its headquarters to Plano in 2014. Other large DFW-area recipients of multimillion TEF grants include McKesson, Kubota, Charles Schwab, Comerica, Jamba Juice, GE Transportation and Vought Aircraft Industries, which was later acquired by aerospace supplier giant Triumph Group.
The $24 million in state money promised to Uber for 3,000 jobs works out to $8,000 per job committed. The state average over the last two years has been $6,459 per job committed, according to a legislative report covering the 2017 and 2018 calendar years.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson said “Dallas and Uber are just a great match.”
“Dallas is a vibrant, diverse, welcoming, and innovative city, and I’m certain Uber and its employees will flourish here," Johnson said in a statement.
City Manager T.C. Broadnax said in a statement that Uber’s decision shows Dallas has the infrastructure, diverse workforce, and global access to compete for the largest of corporate projects.
“I am confident that Uber will be an asset to our city and elated that Uber has decided to expand their operations in Dallas,” Broadnax said.
